


Deep Magic

by Foxbear



Category: Lost in Space (TV 2018)
Genre: Deception, Gen, Loyality, Other, Robot, Robots, Violence, fight, missunderstandings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-25
Updated: 2018-04-26
Packaged: 2019-04-27 16:47:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14429922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Foxbear/pseuds/Foxbear
Summary: He knew now his origonal assessment, done in the midst of fire, pain, and exhaustion, was wrong. He didn't care.No organism displays behavior that they are not at some level hardwired to display. An organism, mechanical or organic, programmed only for destruction will not display nurturing tendencies. Those tendencies must originate from existing behavior.





	1. Little One

He knew now that his initial assessment was wrong. Unless this entire unit was suffering from the same cognitive failure as he was, they did not know what he was, let alone what his current orders were. Added to that fact, the most basic of observations showed that the stage two was one of their kind, not one of his, that he was the only one of his kind on this planet. Still the program continued to run, humming along in the background of his processors, feeding him clear defined instructions, clear defined purpose when there was nothing else. 

Guard. 

Protect. 

Provide. 

Deep code, on a level below any temporary assignment from [classification error memory failure]. For the five thousandth and forty-second time he rerouted the aborted memory thread. He did not know why he was here. The only memories he did have access to offered possibilities that conflicted harshly with the only fragment of clarity that he could cling to, the only command that he could obey with the knowledge that he was fulfilling the dictates of his creators. 

The stage two was fragile, as all of them were. He did not think that they should be this fragile (he had stopped questioning how he knew this the third time it had almost crashed his primary processor) but there was damage from the crash to consider. He himself was not fully repaired or charged and that could explain the stage two’s vulnerability. As a stage four he was far less vulnerable. (So what did it matter if Will Robinson was a different kind?) 

When his processors had cleared in the midst of the fire and pain. When the only clear memory was the frightened determination in the stage two’s strange twin communications hubs. He had assessed the situation. He, a robust stage four was there. The stage two was there. There were no others around. Perhaps his short (and long) term memory was corrupted but he knew his duty. The only explanation that had fit the data at the time was that was his stage two.

He knew he had been wrong now. He knew that Will Robinson was assigned to the combat stage four and the technical stage four who were constantly vying for command of the ship. (That was wrong, again he could not follow the shattered memory threads to the source of that confident knowledge but he knew something was wrong.) He knew that the strange, the human, stage to was not his by formal assignment. 

Still the programs ran in his processor. They rewarded him with sparks of pleasure when his [not his] stage two successfully understood him. They sent waves of distress across his internal networks when the stage two gave the slightest cry of fear. 

He knew he had not been assigned this glowing life to guide, mentor, and protect till it reached maturity. He knew that now. Will Robinson was not his stage two. He could have set a subprogram to scrubbing the deep programs that had activated by chance in that time of fire, confusion, and pain. He could have ended the constant alterations to his neural networks that would bond him to this stage two as his stage four had been bonded to him. He could have stopped it.

But he didn’t.


	2. Loyalty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Robinsons had all, even Will, assumed that the Robot was blindly loyal to the boy. That his deviations were coding errors. They were all very wrong.

After he grips the engine the sensors on the ship activate and he turns to look. There is the planet, there is the sun with the black hole, and sweeping across the bottom right hand corner of the screen is an entire ship just like his.

His memories come rushing back. He knows who is on that ship. He knows what the danger is to the Robinsons. He has to act quickly. He pulls the important bit out of the ship and attaches it to the chariot. Whatever Dr. Smith’s orders are he has his own plans. This will be his bargaining chip. 

They get back to the Jupiter 2 and he lets Dr. Smith’s orders override Will’s. But he is very careful to not hurt Will, or anyone else physically. When Dr. Smith starts to threaten Dad the Robot suddenly becomes very conveniently inept. Making the same mistake he made with Will, moving slowly, not being able to sense the boy he has had nine episodes of no trouble finding under far worse conditions. 

He finally does find the Robinsons and he is flooded with frustration. It is like Mom knows his plan and is actively countering it! They are clustered in the one worst possible spot on the ship! The other is coming and he has to have the hand off ready. Will approaches him and tries to communicate! Good, good, it is time to drop the subterfuge anyway. Will speaks, offers assurances of friendship. But Robot has no way of communicating even a fraction what he wants to. He will start by assuring Will that they are still friends but he has no time to form audio. He raises his hand in a high-five greeting...

And Mom has knocked him across the hold with the hydraulic arm. Why? He was trying to ... ah she still considers him a threat. He tries to make himself look smaller, growing desperate as he feels the other approaching. They need to get Judy and Penny to the safety of the hub! They need to get them away from the engine at least. If he can only communicate-

And Mom hit him with the grappler again. He had to admire her aim.

She secures Will to the wall and he nearly screams in frustration. They need to get out! There is still time.

He realizes too late her plan as she releases the airlock. Still he can salvage this. He can make it to the wall, close the air lock, remove the humans from the hold by force if necessary, make the hand off-

And the crate slammed into him, knocking him out of the ship. The door closes behind him. For a moment he is tempted to give into despair as he sees the other approach. But he dismisses it. Robinsons never give up. He sends the location information as a show of following protocol, it is useless information now anyway, and follows the other to the ship. The other is going to try to blast his way in. That is what the Robot would have done...before...before Will Robinson. The Robot rushes to lead him to the airlock, assuring him of greater efficiency of method, of time saved, and it works. He forces the door and takes in the scene. Will Robinson with Mom protectively standing in front of him.

The other demands the location of the engine. Why? He must be able to sense it now, so close, directly under the sisters. But if this is to go off the way the Robot wants it to. He deliberately allows his communications hub to take on the combat format that seems to frighten Will Robinson so badly. He points to the location and the other is satisfied. 

The chariot will be strong enough to protect the sisters. It has to be. The other will lift it up, maybe toss it away to reach the engine. 

Mom strides forwards and orders the other to stay away from them and the other strikes, sending her flying across the hold. Robot feels his hub flare with distress in tune with the screams of “Mom” from Will Robinson and the sisters. The other storms up to the chariot and unleashes a blast of fire on it, sending it skittering across the floor of the hold and leaving the engine exposed even as the wash from the blast tosses Will Robinson against the wall. Robot darts over to check on the integrity of the chariot. There are microfractures in the window but it will hold, keep the girls safe until the other leaves, Mom’s armor is losing oxygen but she too will be safe until the other leaves, but Will Robinson. Robots stares at him in horror as he calculates the rate at which his suit is losing oxygen. It will be close but as long as the other leaves with the engine now…

The other stalks over to Will Robinson and raises his arms to attack. 

Enough. The plan is done, failed. Perhaps the other never intended to leave the humans alive. The ruse useless Robot summoned the communications patters that pleased and calmed Will Robinson best even as he leapt at the other. He grabbed the other in a restrictive hold and tossed him and the engine away from Will Robinson. He swirled reassuring messages across his communications hub as he analyzed the damage to the armor that was leaking oxygen. That had to be fixed now. Will Robinson let him weld the damage shut. 

“I knew it was still you,” Will Robinson said softly. 

Deciding this called for clarification Robot strained his audio synthesizer. 

“Friends. Will. Robinson.” 

“Yeah, yeah, friends.” Will Robinson gasped out as a more healthy glow returned to his communication hubs. 

Robot stood. He would have to explain this behavior to the other. Perhaps he could-

The blast of fire hit him from behind and any thoughts of communicating his way out of this situation fled. All that was left was to protect the family from the other. Robot turned and charged. After a few blows he was thrown back to the floor. He had managed to blind the other but it was still stronger than him and at any moment it might summon its ship back. Robot looked up at Will Robinson and knew what he had to do.

_I can get rid of the danger my friend, but neither Mom nor the sisters will last long in this vacuum. It must fall to you to aid them._

Unable to verbalize the words in the heat of battle Robot hoped that Will Robinson understood him. He turned and charged the other once more forcing it off of the ramp and out of the ship. It howled in rage as it summoned its own vessel.


End file.
